Disclaimer: I don't own Bungou Stray Dogs characters but the originals that show up later are all mine.

The clock tower rang out over the city of Yokohama. One. Two. Three. 3AM. A beautiful time of night. A beautiful time to die.

Dazai sat on the edge of the roof of the grand stone building, his legs dangled precariously over the side. His eyes gazed upwards. The moon cast a pale blue glow over the landscape and the stars danced across the darkened background of the night sky. The wind brought the sweet smell of the cherry blossoms, intoxicating him with their perfume, as it blew his hair across his face. It was an almost poetic spring night. Such a shame that he was planning to sully this peaceful serenity with his death.

I guess now is as good a time as any. He thought and sighed as he stood up. As his feet shifted ever closer to the edge of the tower, he gazed out into the landscape for what would be the last time. Dazai had always loved the view from this building. The skyline of downtown Yokohama glistened in the reflection on the river in the distance. He closed his eyes, inhaled the cherry blossoms and closed his eyes, ready to take his final leap.

"You told me you might find a reason to live…"

Damn it, Odasaku. He faltered. Dazai shook his head, trying to rid his senses of his friend's final moments. He felt his heart begin to race, like it did that day. Tears threatened to fall. This had been happening a lot more lately. Every time he stood on a ledge, held the razor to his wrist, or slid the noose around his neck, he would see a vision of his dear friend and his resolve would crumble.

Exhausting wasn't even the best way to describe the past five years of his life. Had it already been five years? Five years since Dazai watched his only friend, bleed out in front of his eyes. His blood soaked hands clutching his dear friend, desperately pleading for him to hold on.

"Nothing in this world can fill that lonely hole you have."

He knew that. In a way, he had always know. Dazai had been hiding behind this mask of indifference for so long that was bound to take its toll eventually. He had tried living in a world of violence and pain. Now he was in a world of redemption, trying to do some good before he left this earth permanently.

"Save the weak and protect the orphans."

There was one bright spot in that never-ending sea of darkness, however.

Atsushi.

The orphan had come out of nowhere to save his life in the river. Dazai had thought for sure that that was going to be the day he finally succumbed. He had even sent Kunikida on some wild goose chase to keep him and the others at the Agency at bay. Dazai didn't remember much after losing consciousness in the water. He did, however, remember the intense gaze of purple and gold looking at him as he coughed the water from his lungs.

Something in the boy's eyes made him want to change. Atsushi's passion for life and his sheer will to keep fighting beyond any and all hope inspired him to keep going. For a while, his suicide attempts became jest as opposed to anything serious. But lately, even Atsushi wasn't enough to keep him going anymore.

"I know better than anyone…because I am your friend."

His dear friend's dying words struck Dazai's heart again. Tears welled up in the man's eyes. This time he couldn't help but let them flow freely down his cheeks. He fell back away from the ledge and collapsed against the cold stone wall. His resolve to continue once again gone.

"I've been trying, Odasaku." he whispered.

A sudden unnatural flicker of light in the distance caught Dazai's attention. A muzzle flash? After years in the Mafia there was no mistaking it for anything else. Another flash. And another. A pit began forming in Dazai's stomach. Something didn't feel right about this.

"Be on the side that saves people."

"I'll do that, Oda. Even if it's just this one last time.", he sighed under his breath, taking off toward the flashes.

"Atsushi!"

A hushed whispered startled him awake. At first, he could only see the cold blue glow of the computer screens. The boy sighed. He had fallen asleep at the office again.

The past few days had been busy for the Agency and especially for him and Dazai. Ranpo had found leads on a possible Guild splinter group so they had run themselves ragged, chasing down every possible location.

They had been so busy working out this latest case that exhaustion had finally taken its toll on him. Atsushi hadn't even spent any time in his own dorm, settling for eating, sleeping, and even showering at the office.

The weretiger was exhausted. He was about to doze off again when someone began shaking him. Atsushi blinked to clear his foggy vision only to see the frantic redhead move to start shaking him again.

"What the hell, Tanizaki?" he hissed.

"We have to go. It's Dazai." Atsushi sat up like a shot. Any and all exhaustion was chased away by the adrenaline of urgency.

"Is he all right?" Concern was evident in Atsushi's voice. While his suicide attempts had tapered off in recent months, anything regarding Dazai was usually cause for concern.

"I don't know." Tanizaki replied."All I got was this." Tanizaki showed him the text on his phone.

IN THE FOREST OUTSIDE YOKOHAMA

WAKE ATSUSHI-KUN.

HE SHOULD BE SLEEPING IN THE AGENCY OFFICE.

PLEASE HURRY. I NEED YOU.

The last words of Dazai's text echoed in Atsushi's head. I Need You. Now wide awake, he quickly nodded to Tanizaki.

"Let's go!"

Just getting back into writing after several years away and this story wasn't letting me go. Definitely still a work in progress. Leave a review if you would like. I love getting feedback from others. Currently don't have a beta but if anyone's interested please let me know.